Burl Ives Wins Supporting Actor: 1959 Oscars

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

He is incredible in The Big Country!

[@Sandra-cm1du]

Burl Ives acting in the Big Country was an outstanding performance. He delivered! Sure do wish they would make great movies like that again.

[@LPJack02]

RIP Burl Ives (June 14, 1909 - April 14, 1995), aged 85 You will be remembered as a legend.

[@tanyasimon595]

He was a terrific singer, too. I loved his Christmas albums, and one other song "A Little Bitty Tear Let Me Down" -- He could do everything!

[@Beagle3561]

A well deserved award. He absolutely owned this role, and stole the movie!

[@scottmiller6495]

Agreed 100 Percent !!!!!

[@goodowner5000]

Also his other role that year, Big Daddy ("Cat On A Hot Tin Roof").

[@scottmiller6495]

​@@goodowner5000 Yes but his role in The Big Country stands out as one of the Best in History!!!!!

[@michaelverbakel7632]

Yes he was a very deserving winner for The Big Country but it was just as much for his classic role as Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof the same year in 1958.

[@MarkHarrison733]

His overacting was terrible in that overlong and boring film. Charles Bickford gave a far better performance.

[@kirsteni.russell5903]

Burl Ives gave so much authenticity AND gravitas to his role in THE BIG COUNTRY, he helped make the movie successful and unforgettable!

[@scottmiller6495]

Burl Ives made The Big Country a superb film plus all of the other terrific actors in this fantastic picture! This motion picture should have won best picture of the year for 1958 because it was much better than that awful overrated Gigi !!!!!

[@timrasico8821]

I met Burl Ives! He was a very kind and gentle man! He preferred entertaining children! Hecwas extremely funny! Thank you Burl Ives! Dr.Tim Rasico

[@egogo816]

You are so lucky. I’m a huge Burl Ives fan 😊

[@Russell_Huston]

Really good that he gave credit to the writers, so much of what you see is their work. Ives was an actor who really knew that.

[@scottmiller6495]

Burl Ives won because of his terrific performance as Rufus Hennessey. The way he entered the film and the speech he gave to everyone at the wedding party and his rant was priceless. His powerful performance may be the greatest in motion picture history!!!It,s true he was that good in The Big Country!!!

[@claudephilippe7922]

complètement d'accord avec vous Burl Ives est le meilleur acteur americain, bien supérieur à Marlon Brando par exemple. Il est tout simplement extraordinaire et si juste avec une grande simplicité

[@kentclark6420]

It just doesn't seem like Christmas without Burl. RIP to the greatest!

[@MarkHarrison733]

He was an atheist Communist who supported Stalin.

[@lpdog82]

@@MarkHarrison733 and you sir are a liar

[@MarkHarrison733]

@@lpdog82 It's why he named names.

[@Luxington1]

Why? Was he in some classic Christmas movie or something?

[@kentclark6420]

@@Luxington1 He was in a lot of Xmas specials, even cartoons.

[@candorablecando8093]

Just watched THE BIG COUNTRY tonight! Wonderful, beautiful film! This Oscar win for Burl Ives is so well-deserved! His performance was focused, strong and memorable. Not overplayed - real strength and purpose in his character. Folk music may have been his start, but thank goodness he found acting! His performance here is an excellent acting lesson in absolute commitment to a role. ❤️ 🎭 Rest In Peace.

[@scottmiller6495]

I'm so glad you saw this incredible film! Best Western Motion Picture of All Time! Should have won Best Picture of 1958 instead of that overrated Gigi!!!!!

[@stevenj9970]

Great Actor!!!! Most deserved!!!! Truly amazing man all around.

[@annakaminski4406]

When Oscars were truly high class & such a joy to watch.

[@David-dz3ig]

a wonderful character actor. I would like to have seen him also win for Cat On a Hot Tin Roof but he gave a fine performance here too.

[@Archer335]

He absolutely owns the role of “Big Daddy” in that film.

[@Dennisanyone-]

He was such a force of nature in BC. Listening to Holly Jolly Christmas now on this Christmas Day.

[@lbroderick783]

Just watched The Big Country and Burl Ives was beyond great in it! Agree, this win was well deserved. As mentioned below, Burl Ives was great in a lot of films and of course loved him in Rudolph the Reindeer!

[@scottmiller6495]

Burl Ives was terrific in The Big Country he won because of his memorable speech during the wedding party and his ability to put his words to meaning nobody has really done this before and very few since !!!!!

[@scottmiller6495]

L Broderick The absolute best none better. The film should have won best picture of the year 1958. Gigi was not as good no way !!!!!

[@carolward9455]

LOVE The Big Country and Burl Ives. Have lots of his music on my playlist for OShop for the Arts. Amazing performance.

[@darthstarkiller1912]

Without Burl Ives, "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer" would've been totally different. With Burl Ives, it's as memorable as ABCs. RIP Burl Ives, America misses you. :'-)

[@crunchy_wafers]

I miss him :,(

[@robbyosborne9708]

He had such an iconic voice.

[@chrisn7259]

He could have easily won for Big Daddy as well. He was a mesmerizing performer as well as apparently a very kind soul. And Bette Davis looked great here.

[@michaelverbakel7632]

Burl Ives' Academy Award for the Big Country was just as much for his classic performance also as for his role as Big Daddy in the Broadway play and film role in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

[@Dennisanyone-]

It looks like fellow nominee Gig Young was sitting in front on him, looked back and smiled when Burls name was read. Burl patted him on the shoulder walking to the stage. Such a classy thing to do.

[@IgorKovacs1]

Great actor. I miss him.

[@charlieyellowstone8248]

I think he seemed a little bit stunned and a loss for words to win this award. He was very humble and very gracious.

[@curtisstewart9426]

I first saw this movie on TV years ago. Great cast. Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, and Chuck Connors. I'll never forget the introductory sound track to The Big Country was a great movie.

[@michaelverbakel7632]

That opening musical soundtrack and score for 'The Big Country' has become almost legendary over the years

[@timrasico8821]

I had the pleasure of meeting Burl Ives! He was a true gentleman! Very kind! He said he preferred singing to children! Dr. Tim Rasico

[@stevedandy973]

GREAT role for Burl Ives. He played that mean SOB to the hilt. WELL DESERVED.

[@MonroeSmile]

Well-deserved. Wonderful performance.

[@scottmiller6495]

Totally stole the motion picture with his incredible acting and ability to put meaning in his words !!!

[@billbright1755]

Thank you Sir, fine gentlemen and scholar that you are.

[@MrSwj2009]

Burl Ives got his showbiz start doing folk music on the radio with the legendary Woody Guthrie. Burl made it big in Hollywood. Woody took another path.

[@vistaestrada]

Bette Davis and Anthony Quinn. Nice combo!

[@pankajshah3422]

Well deserved award to Burl Ives.Very talented character actor.Bob Hope was one of the popular anchor of Acedemy award function.Great comedian too.Still remember the Road series.

[@pankajshah3422]

Bob Hope is the most famous n popular st the Oscar award ceremony since long time till 1965.Great actor n human being.

[@victorutu3324]

He played with James Dean on East of Eden by John Steinbeck Director Ellia Kazan ; He is Great Actor

[@vickynaz8371]

Burl ives most memorably remembered for Christmas Cartoons and singing " have a jolly jolly christmas" ALL of my favorite songs and Christmas specials and the best time of being a child. 💓💓💓

[@rickram1961]

Burl Ives was excellent in East of Eden, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and of course The Big Country.

[@weirdproq]

I didn't know Burl Ives was in any of those!

[@scottmiller6495]

His performance in The Big Country was beyond great and made screen history!!!!!

[@AdamPaul222]

God Bless Burl Ives!!!

[@realfredwithtires]

I laugh when people say this one or that one won for the wrong performance. Obviously the Academy didn't think so and I doubt very much if an actor or actress would care either. The Oscar is the Oscar. it does not get any bigger than the Golden Boy and as long as your name is in the envelope that is all that matters! Ives had a great year and he was stellar in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof but he was even better in The Big Country. He won for the correct performance.

[@scottmiller6495]

Absolutely correct his performance in The Big Country was beyond great !!!!!

[@mathewgmarsac5648]

Greatest western ever filmed

[@scottmiller6495]

Totally agree 💯 percent It should have won Best Picture of 1958 instead of that awful overrated Gigi, by far !!!!!

[@rgrndu]

He deserves a tv lifetime achievement award for playing the snowman in Rudolph ⛄️

[@ffdaddy69]

his best performance was in Let No Man Write My Epitaph. he should have been nominated for that , Cat On A Hot Tin Roof & the Spiral Road & lastly for Supporting Actor for Just You & Me Kid.

[@michaelmuldowney8]

More than likely Ives was nominated for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof when the ballots were first tabulated - but Oscar rules prevent a performer from being nominated twice in the same category. The highest nominated performance stays and the lesser is excluded - whoever was in 6th place then gets promoted. Something similar happened to Diane Keaton for her LOOKING FOR MR GOODBAR performance in 1978.

[@fatima1009]

I like it when they actually show up to collect the awards.

[@kellie8468]

One of the best supporting actor wins ever . Some of his dialogue gave me goosebumps. Ruthless but oddly fair in his way. He never flinched.

[@Nighthawk-8050]

Burt Ives stole that movie well deserved Oscar

[@johnnyllooddte3415]

love love love burl ives... what a great man

[@vickynaz8371]

When Movie Stars had style grace !!

[@jimmyl324]

Great performance

[@michaelmuldowney8]

Legend has it that Mr Ives work in THE BIG COUNTRY and CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF both finished in the top five at the nomination stage, But as Oscar rules prohibit a performer from being nominated twice in the same category the lower ranked performance was discarded. Similar fate befell Diane Keaton in 1977.

[@jamesfair4315]

Burl Ives is Christmas. And he was an Oscar Winner!

[@cjinasia9266]

He could have mentioned Chuck Connors whose excellent performance gave Burl the perfect foil to play off of.

[@bluetoad2001]

great movie great actor. excellent singer too😎👍✅✌️

[@jcolson19]

Absolutely a great actor

[@thommyturtle209]

amazing performance

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

For the life of me, I will never understand how the academy apparently preferred Ives' performance in The Big Country, excellent though it was, to his Big Daddy in Cat, one of the grandest pieces of casting in film or theater and widely acknowledged as such. That flagrant oversight undoubtedly influenced some of the final voting. A classic goof for the Oscars.

[@drstrangelove6558]

ikr

[@PEARLEGATES-yi1sd]

how true he played it to a t as big daddy

[@TheTerryE]

He was FAR better in the Big Country. Cat was a TERRIBLE movie.

[@harpervalleypeeteeay9708]

His voice makes me instantly think of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer !

[@danielbisson8032]

burl ives was fabulous aCTOR

[@gatewayski1]

Burl Ives should have won for CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, and Theodore Bikel should have been nominated for I WANT TO LIVE!

[@ShahJee101]

phenomenol actor.

[@larky368]

He almost wiped Bette Davis out when he bumped into her.

[@markruddle5136]

Lived in Ireland for quite a few years 1960s early 1970s, popular man, got involved in the community.

[@janethu9169]

Bob Hope. Bette Davis. Tony Queen. Arthur Kennedy. B. I. Big Country. .....

[@SamSGSDUMA]

He should have sang silver and gold while holding up his oscar XD

[@polara01]

I just fell off my chair LMFAO!!! That would have been priceless! I think he was too humble to even think of that but that would have brought the house down...

[@mbmmhp1066]

that would have been great!! but there is a chance that Silver And Gold hadn't been written yet, since the TV show Rudolph was 6 years away from being made

[@Loulou-sr3tk]

Probably the best oscar’s speech. He thank everybody in the movie, and that´s it.

[@emerybayblues]

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

[@ShadavionGrant]

Wasn't myoshi umeki suppose to present this award since she won the previous year?

[@ettoredipugnar6990]

Great Movie !!!

[@jessesands9426]

Brilliant performance as Rufus Hennessey!😀

[@scottmiller6495]

Beyond Brilliant Superb in every way Period !!!!!

[@Harringtonml54]

Great to see this, so thanks Admins! It's one of my 10 favorite wins in the category and it produced at least one unforgettable line and line reading: "Teach your grandmother to suck eggs, boy!" Priceless. I think he was just as good in this as in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (maybe even better, since he wasn't working with an equivalent screenplay for THE BIG COUNTRY. If one may ask for other postings: I am still eager to see the film editing and sound wins for THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Would greatly appreciate seeing them, especially the sound award because it was co-presented by Patty Duke and George Hamilton, whose date that evening got more press than all the industry insiders!

[@maplestreetmovies]

I swear Bob Hope is always hosting these older Oscars 😂😂

[@scottmiller6495]

Yes and of course the late great Jerry Lewis!!!!!

[@marytorres4843]

Brilliant actor 👏

[@paulmoran217]

His 'Rufus crashes the party' monologue in the film is riveting........see it here on YT.

[@edphil6073]

Is this before What ever happened to Baby Jane nomination?

[@scottmiller6495]

Of course this was these awards were for 1958, Baby Jane came out in 1962 !!!!!

[@615855]

It was Burl Ives who absolutely stole the Big Country. I also believe Chuck Connors was also excellent playing a character far removed from his persona in the Rifleman, a highly popular TV series he started to make around the same time as The Big Country was filmed.

[@scottmiller6495]

Agreed 100 percent, both terrific actors !!!!!

[@survivoraras]

Always hoped to see this presentation. IMHO, Burl Ives superb performance that same year in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof assured him an Oscar. Actually, Bob Hope was not right, three time Supporting Winner Walter Brennan held the acting record (for about 25 years!).

[@Charmingdresden]

Please, upload Judy Holliday's win!

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

+Charmingdresden You'd be disappointed. She wasn't there. Cherish her in Born Yesterday, funniest performance ever.

[@machovoce6826]

Davis and Quinn both look like "what the hell?" when Ives name is read.

[@josephhooks2387]

Well deserved!

[@jjuwayne]

My memory of Burl Ives was reading bible stories on tape he had an amazing voice .

[@cherylbean521]

Very unique

[@andtheawardgoestome]

Great actor, too bad he won for the wrong film this year (should have won for 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' Also, do you think you could poke around in that vault of yours for the wins from 1963, esp. 'Tom Jones' for Picture, Tony Richardson for director, Melvyn Douglas and Margaret Rutherford for their Supporting wins? Thanks so much.

[@gatewayski1]

I agree, Burl Ives was much better in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". Yes, I would also like to see the 1963 winners for Best Supporting Actor and Actress (Melvyn Douglas and Margaret Rutherford, although I don't believe either were present to accept their awards.)

[@Harringtonml54]

Charlie Chaplin Would like to see this, too, as Douglas's win is one of my 5 favorites in the category. Brandon DeWilde accepted the award from Patty Duke. Please, Admins? Thank you.

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

+Harringtonml54 Yes! Douglas was truly one of the most deserving of supporting actor winners. Absolutely superb as the father in Hud.

[@califdad4]

I remember seeing this movie as my mom watched it on tv in the mid 60s and I remember Gregory peck but really remember burl ives , who was the bad guy

[@ionacheaters3121]

Burl Ives won for the wrong film. But he won so it doesn't really matter.

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

+Iona Cheaters It does matter because it spells some inexplicable hypocrisy and insults human intelligence.

[@dwighta8655]

And it smells like mendacity!

[@scottmiller6495]

No he didn't win for the wrong picture! The Big Country was the greatest role Burl Ives ever played. He was sensational!!!!!

[@roxannesantoro7503]

@@scottmiller6495 He damn sure did win for the right movie- When you "steal" a movie from Gregory Peck and Charlton Heston and the wonderful character actor Charles Bickford. You have just done something.

[@scottmiller6495]

@@roxannesantoro7503 Well said but it was a supporting role but nonetheless he deserved it! Now as far as Best Actor in 1956, Nobody was going to beat Yul Brynner. He made Three films all worthy of that Award Period!!!!!

[@michaeljj43]

bette looks so beautiful

[@JJJBRICE]

I do not think there was much controversy with the Burl Ives win in his first and only nomination . Between Bikel , Cobb , Kennedy and Young I think Cobb and Kennedy were distant also rans . Like his The Big Country co star Charlton Heston would do two years later in the AA in his first and only best actor nomination this was his year !

[@DodlDecF]

The Oscars are not the same without Bob Hope or any Host.

[@tonypanzarella9387]

No political attacks. No face slaps. Are you SURE this was the Academy Awards telecast?

[@scottmiller6495]

This is how great the world was back then, and since the late 1980s, it's become horrible!!!!!

[@BGTaken]

My name is burl

[@ikurrinegartzia5487]

Great actor and great choice.

[@johnedwards6318]

The Oscar should of gone to (In Order): #1 David Niven for Separate Tables, #2 Burl Ives for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, #3 Gig Young for Teacher's Pet, #4 Maurice Cehvalier for Gigi, #5 Lee J. Cobb for Brothers Karamazov, #6 Burl Ives for The Big Country, #7 Dean Martin for Some Came Running, #8 Theodore Bikel for The Defiant Ones, #9 Curt Jurgens for The Inn Of The Sixth Happiness, #10 Toto for Big Deal On Madonna Street (aka: The Usual Unidentified Thieves) (Italy). NOTE: Arthur Kennedy for Some Came Running, in my opinion didn't make the grade.

[@johnedwards6318]

Also for best Bit\Cameo performance (In Order): #1 Jerry Lewis for High School Confidential (aka Young Hellions) (aka College Confidential), #2 Lon Chaney Jr. for The Defiant Ones), #3 (Kid with the transistor radio), The Defiant Ones.

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

+john edwards Although I can't help being relieved to hear somebody share my feelings toward overrated Kennedy, I am appalled to see that with all the time you obviously put into this and other anal retentive lists, you could not find a place for Myron McCormick as the hilarious Sergeant King in No Time for Sergeants. Not only was he the funniest actor ever to hold that much-depicted rank, he even bested Andy Griffith in the lead. It is ridiculous he wasn't nominated. Also how about Stuart Whitman, the breezy trumpet player from Ten North Frederick?

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

+john edwards You really take this way too far. Go out and get some fresh air.

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

+cats pajamas They do it all the time, including this year with Mark Ruffalo in Spotlight, and it's insufferable and getting worse. Defeats the whole purpose of having separate categories, doesn't it?

[@johnedwards6318]

+TheChannel.TV I've not seen Ten North Frederick. I'll try and find it. NOTE: I made these lists years ago and I did them fast off scribbled notes I wrote back in the 90's. I liked Whitman in The Mark and he did a nice performance in Ruby (1977). Let me know anything else on my other lists.

[@CJODell12]

So Sam the Snowman himself has an Oscar.

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

+C.J. O'Dell It always amazes me how surprised many people are to learn that the familiar faces and voices they became familiar with on cartoons, bad tv shows, etc. actually had careers! Watch more TCM, less Disney channel and Nickelodeon, if that still even exists.

[@CJODell12]

TheChannel.TV I know what Turner Classic Movies is thank you very much. And yes, I'm aware how many movies he appeared in.

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

+C.J. O'Dell No offense intended. And I'm glad to hear it.

[@photo161]

Appropriately, I just stumbled on this clip today, a day after the Academy Award Ceremony. In comparison to the pathetic display I witnessed last night, these three greats, Hope, Quinn, and Davis seem like marvelous giant figures from another far greater but by now nearly lost civilization.

[@alvaropelayo8084]

The best in The Big Country was Charlton Heston, rip

[@MissPerriwinkle]

gig young???

[@Rubberman202]

I TOLD YOU I'D SHOOT! BUT YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE ME!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU BELIEVE ME?!

[@jeffbeachnau4605]

Happy, happy, joy, joy.

[@markedjuan]

He should have won Best Actor in a leading role because I think he played the title role.

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

+Mark S. Dizon What the hell are you talking about? He had about twenty minutes of screen time.

[@HAL-vm3wn]

"Title" role? Are you saying he was an entire Country?

[@Cunninghamily]

1:05

[@williammorris584]

Deserved it for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, which did not win any Oscars that night.

[@elissabarrett247]

❤

[@markharrison2544]

Ives named names.

[@SovereignEmmatNezzer]

YASS!!!!! *Fangirl Scream*

[@Celluloidwatcher]

I think someone stole my thunder, here. Why Burl Ives won for The Big Country, written for the screen, and not Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a popular Broadway play adapted for the screen, is beyond me. Then, again, The Oscars have made oversights before. It's a human thing.

[@sstavsky]

There's a school of thought that MGM pushed all of the actors in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (even the so-called supporting ones) in the lead category, and that's why Ives got the supporting nomination for "The Big Country."

[@ejk.7415]

Did Anthony Quinn really say 'Would you like to say something?' Really? No. No Tony. He just won an Oscar and doesn't want to say anything. What a clumsy crappy thing to say.

[@almudenacarnero7934]

Oscar en España se. Creen algunos estamos para elecciones y otros. Ya dure son. Que. Autonomias están en eso. Todavía. Kien les educo s i ya. Diré algo. Saben. Que es un toke. De keda. Se. Creen paso. Algún lugar. Que. EA .es. Esto. Uy estamos todavía en eso. Ya dire oscar. Lo oyes. Bien